American Grit - General Discussion

[ClareWalks]

Allison is one shady bitch. How she made it to her mid-30s "accidentally" eating butterMILK ranch is impossible. Clearly she did it on purpose. She is not long for this competition now that she has nobody to bail her out. 

Grady and his Green Team Toadies all suck. Especially since they actually thought that sabotaging Blue would be reasonable and they'd never get eliminated because Grady would never put them in the elimination challenge. Okay, dumbfucks, what if Green didn't win the challenge, though? What if it wasn't up to Grady who to pick? There's only a 1 in 3 chance it'd be him picking. The whole thing reminds me of how codependent Bob's contestants were on Biggest Loser. Blue was smart to steal George, since he was the only one who seemed reasonable about the whole stupid thing. It's not like the teams don't mingle constantly, you aren't abandoning your friends forever. You see each other all the time.

This whole format just sucks, because all the strongest people are put up for elimination every week and people are often chosen based on "who needs to be here." It is setting up a winner who is 1) a total pussy, and 2) is desperately needy. Yes, let's hand a quarter million to some whiny under-the-radar shit.

[simplyme]

2 hours ago, ClareWalks said:

This whole format just sucks, because all the strongest people are put up for elimination every week and people are often chosen based on "who needs to be here." It is setting up a winner who is 1) a total pussy, and 2) is desperately needy. Yes, let's hand a quarter million to some whiny under-the-radar shit.

Well, in theory people are chosen or not based on "who needs to be here." That's the mealy-mouthed supposed premise of the show. But really, it's usually "I'm trying to knock out the toughest competition for my team" which means the strongest competitors are put up each week. So the result is that there are jerks who have grown not one iota who continue to advance.

On the other hand, since the eliminations have in large part favored the most physically fit, strongest competitor (no matter what BS Cena spews about "who wants it more"), I feel fairly certain that someone like, say, Alison or Richard is not going to win. I mean, I personally really like Richard's attitude, but the guy isn't winning this thing. The Georges and Hermans of the competition have a definite advantage unless they start adding in marathon puzzling sessions or some such thing.

I'm also sure that given how fake large portions of this show have been, the winner will be someone portrayed in a positive light of some kind. So Carla is not winning this thing. 

Edited July 17, 2017 by simplyme

[simplyme]

Oh! I almost forgot! 

My favorite part of this episode had to be the little Viking ship burial for Melanie, with Alison complaining that it smelled "chemical" (That's the spirit, Alison), someone else responding with, "That's a lot of bacon grease," and a third person adding, "She loved bacon." At which point there was a general murmur of assent.

I cracked up.

[Vicky8675309]

Burke still whining about Grady having a strong team when Burke could have chosen strong people but wanted to work with those who needed the most help. I guess that went out the window since he picked George to steal (I'm sure he told that dude to pick George). I can't stand Burke....sanctimonious hypocrite. I much prefer ruthless Grady who don't pretend to be something he isn't.

[raven]

Quote

I much prefer ruthless Grady who don't pretend to be something he isn't.

Grady knows it's just a silly TV game and is playing to win.  Like you, I'm sure Burk told hyperactive Chris to pick the strongest competitor on Green.

I like George (quiet, gets things done) and Richard (seems like a genuine person).  Everyone else is forgettable or annoying.

[simplyme]

I figure all the cadre are using this as an entry point for a possible career in acting. I'm not really too cheesed about how any of them act because I'm fairly certain they have assigned roles (cheerleader, mom, drill sergeant with inner marshmallow, shady prankster) and their conflicts are suggested if not actually scripted. Burk's melodramatic talk with Melanie last week made me roll my eyes.

All right. Most things on this show now make me roll my eyes. 

[Guest]

I can't believe they chose the word 'cadre' to refer to the team leaders.  In no way does it refer to one person.  I guess they assume we're all semi-literate.

ca·dre

ˈkadrē,ˈkädrē,ˈkadˌrā,ˈkädˌrā/

noun

a small group of people specially trained for a particular purpose or profession.

"a small cadre of scientists"

I side-eye the ranch dressing story.  They're on a camp in rural Georgia and making dressing from actual buttermilk?  Around 25% of adults in the US are lactose intolerant to some degree.  We don't throw up from ingesting the tiny bit of dried buttermilk in a serving of bottled ranch.  Did she drink the bottle?  Maybe she drank too much alcohol the night before.  

"Lactose intolerance is the inability to digest the milk sugar lactose, causing gastrointestinal symptoms of flatulence, bloating, cramps, and diarrhea in some individuals."  

[TVbitch]

Oh dear. I thought this show might be the American version of the fascinating "SAS: Who Dares Wins" which puts actual people through real special forces military training and makes them live under military conditions and conduct themselves as soldiers. But, um, nah. 

[jhlipton]

1 hour ago, TVbitch said:

Oh dear. I thought this show might be the American version of the fascinating "SAS: Who Dares Wins" which puts actual people through real special forces military training and makes them live under military conditions and conduct themselves as soldiers. But, um, nah. 

The American version was called The Selection, which aired on the History channel from Dec 2016 to Jan 2017. The instructors were harder on the women than the men, going so far as giving one guy they definitely had a hard-on for a pass for blatantly cheating on an "integrity station".  It was a fun show (if you ignored the obvious manipulation of the results) but I nearly died from testosterone poisoning.

[simplyme]

11 hours ago, TVbitch said:

Oh dear. I thought this show might be the American version of the fascinating "SAS: Who Dares Wins" which puts actual people through real special forces military training and makes them live under military conditions and conduct themselves as soldiers. But, um, nah. 

I can't stop laughing. Did you discover your mistake before you started watching the show or during? Because now I can't stop seeing your little Cartman avatar staring at the screen in disbelief before going into an obscenity-laced rant.

[TVbitch]

 

Um, it became obvious about 2 seconds after I tuned in when the first set of boobs were all up in my face.  That's right @jhlipton, I actually watched the Selection! I think I even cried a little when the older guy finished. I think SAS is still the best though.  

[Vicky8675309]

On 7/19/2017 at 6:51 AM, icemiser69 said:

This season was flawed from the start on so many levels.  Allowing a team to be stacked, there was really no way to unstack it.  Yes, Grady's thought process was complete bullshit.  Money is on the line, would he really expect someone to go on to another team and tank it?  He has no way to protect that person.

One team is stacked because Burke wanted the people who needed help the most. Now he regrets his choice. Dumbass

[jhlipton]

3 hours ago, TVbitch said:

I actually watched the Selection! I think I even cried a little when the older guy finished. I think SAS is still the best though.  

It's funny how much leeway they gave to the men they had a bro-on for.  They didn't even try to hide how much they gay-loved their favorites, and how much contempt they had for those icky women.  I bet at least one has a DADT tattoo.

Edited July 21, 2017 by jhlipton

[Destiny74]

Anyone Allison's age with lactose intolerance who eats ranch dressing deserves to get sick.  That being said, she totally did it to get out of the challenge.  Whata tool.  It was totally her time to step up and go to elimination.  I feel for Janessa.  She should have been safe, at least for one more week.  And if it had not been a double elimination, she'd still be in.  Allison needs to get the riot act read to her and I hope Chloe kicks her ass good.  She won't, but I would love to see it.  Allison has ticked me off since week one. Pulling this crap seems within her character.

George will win this, it'll come down to George and Herman (the Zen yoga guy).  George will pull it out.

[jhlipton]

On 7/21/2017 at 1:15 AM, Destiny74 said:

Herman (the Zen yoga guy).  

Herman the Fake Native American, you mean. Unless he's dropped that crap.

[Destiny74]

20 hours ago, jhlipton said:

Herman the Fake Native American, you mean. Unless he's dropped that crap.

Yep, you're right.  That is a very accurate description!  ?

[Irlandesa]

On 7/19/2017 at 10:50 PM, TVbitch said:

Oh dear. I thought this show might be the American version of the fascinating "SAS: Who Dares Wins" which puts actual people through real special forces military training and makes them live under military conditions and conduct themselves as soldiers. But, um, nah. 

No definitely not that but the first season of this show was very different and much better.  It was divided into two challenges.  The team challenge which took up about half an episode.  And then the gauntlet challenge which took up the second half of the episode.  Very little personality drama.  Actual grit.

This season is all about the personality drama and gossip.  Sure, Alison may have done it to get out of a challenge which would be interesting on a show that I enjoyed more when that kind of stuff wasn't in the show.

On 7/20/2017 at 9:20 PM, Vicky8675309 said:

One team is stacked because Burke wanted the people who needed help the most. Now he regrets his choice. Dumbass

This is why I wish I would stop watching this show because the premise of the show was help.  Burke followed that.  Grady didn't.  But it's all manipulated BS.

ETA: Tonight's episode had too much gossip drama but I did like the final challenge.  It was all about the core which is why I wish we would have seen muscle people going up against Alison who looks like she must do yoga or pilates given how stable she was.

Edited July 24, 2017 by Irlandesa

[Vicky8675309]

4 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

No definitely not that but the first season of this show was very different and much better.  It was divided into two challenges.  The team challenge which took up about half an episode.  And then the gauntlet challenge which took up the second half of the episode.  Very little personality drama.  Actual grit.

This season is all about the personality drama and gossip.  Sure, Alison may have done it to get out of a challenge which would be interesting on a show that I enjoyed more when that kind of stuff wasn't in the show.

This is why I wish I would stop watching this show because the premise of the show was help.  Burke followed that.  Grady didn't.  But it's all manipulated BS.

ETA: Tonight's episode had too much gossip drama but I did like the final challenge.  It was all about the core which is why I wish we would have seen muscle people going up against Alison who looks like she must do yoga or pilates given how stable she was.

This season just sucks so much compared to season 1. I thought the object of the show was to show your grit to win the money at the end. Now Burke (and the show) has some spin about helping people but it's a competition. Burke is a hypocrite but that's ok because everyone has been hypocritical at times in their lives. However him wanting to come across as the "nice guy" just seems fake. I'm sure he is a nice guy but his way of shoving it down my throat makes it seem disingenuous imo even if it isn't. I also think Grady is a nice guy who just is more competitive and willing to engage in psychological warfare to win (I seriously doubt any of his team would have purposefully thrown a challenge when moving to another team.....it was head games to try to keep their team together but even if it wasn't I still don't think Grady is a bad guy imo).

If the premise of the show is more about helping people rather than winning money then I don't see how they have actually really helped anyone (it seems like scripted edited fake "reality"). 

I still can't get past how irresponsible the show was when they glamorized the high from narcotics......bad message imo. (referring to that whiney woman who went to the hospital and came back high as a kite feeling so good on opiates).

I haven't seen tonights episode yet, lol

[Writing Wrongs]

4 hours ago, icemiser69 said:

So, which is worse? 

A: Someone who makes themselves sick, resulting in not being able to compete?

B:  As a group, talking behind someone's back, and not talking directly to that person about it?

C:  Telling that person that she is being talked about, without telling the backstabbers you are going to out them, first?

B & C are tough ones. I can't decide.

[ClareWalks]

Every week I find myself thinking "ugh, stop fighting, folks, you're ALL awful." And yet I keep watching.

[simplyme]

7 hours ago, icemiser69 said:

So, which is worse? 

A: Someone who makes themselves sick, resulting in not being able to compete?

B:  As a group, talking behind someone's back, and not talking directly to that person about it?

C:  Telling that person that she is being talked about, without telling the backstabbers you are going to out them, first?

 

The subject of mental illness was brought up during the episode.  What is that all about?  At what point will there be a "very special" episode talking about it?

IMO, as far as I can tell, Chris wanted to address the issue with someone who he thought was his friend so that she would know it was happening. Having been the person talked about before, I imagine he felt not telling Alison would have been a betrayal and she would have been upset with him when she discovered what people were saying. Also, he could attempt to tell her in a more matter-of-fact, gentle, and less public way than she might otherwise find out and thus give her time to deal with her reaction and prepare a plan to handle what was going on.

I don't see a thing wrong with what Chris did, especially since I don't recall him using the word "everyone." I believe he said "people are saying..." which is pretty general.

I pretty much think that in a situation like this, where you are at a camp with people you haven't known for an excessively long time, just about anything you say behind someone's back should be something you are willing to say to their face. If not, don't say it. But really, if you're talking to everyone in camp about someone and they find out? That's on you. Hannah's "I had to have a conversation I didn't want to have because of you!" reaction made me want to smack her. Sure. We all want to be able to do stuff we shouldn't without repercussions, but that's not life. Suck it up.

As to mental illness... I don't see how they could do a single very special episode on such a broad, varied, complex topic, but God, I hope they don't try. They'll just slaughter it.

Now if Hannah had said to Chris something like, "I don't like Alison" when they were one on one and it was obviously something she'd said in confidence and didn't want Alison to know, she'd have a reason to be upset. But that wasn't the case. People were gossiping in groups about Alison's character, not saying things in confidence. So people getting mad at Chris was solely because they were uncomfortable with having to face the ramifications of their own actions. Too bad.

[ClareWalks]

I find it odd that Allison acknowledges that she struggles with mental illness, yet when her cadre asked "is there anything you've done to make them think you're manipulative," Allison definitively said "no." I would think someone self-aware enough to know they are dealing with anxiety and/or depression would be aware enough to know that others might see a desperate anxious game-playing move as manipulative.

[ClareWalks]

5 minutes ago, icemiser69 said:

There is always the possibility that just mentioning "mental illness" is another form of manipulation.

Yeah, Allison is definitely a "don't blame me! I can't help it!" type.

[Guest]

On 7/26/2017 at 5:39 AM, icemiser69 said:

He should have said to the backstabbers, that if they had a problem with Allison, that they should talk to her directly about it, not behind her back. 

I think he should've just minded his own business, period.  It's not up to him to tell others how to behave.   

The 'mental illness' thing surprised me, too, but I guess she meant anxiety.  I didn't even know she'd mentioned anxiety previously.  The more they show that vomit scene, the more I think it looks like she was just spitting while making gagging motions and sounds.  I think it was wrapped up in the show by her later saying she knew of things she had to work on back home, now.  Which also didn't make sense because if she knows she has a mental illness she knows it's something to work on, and came to the show with that knowledge.  

Herman saying 'tactfulness' (instead of tact) made me laugh and reminded me of last season's 'fit mama blogger' idiot saying ep-i-TOAM.  

Hulu's description says the show is about 16 of the toughest people in the world or something.  I guess no one let them know of the format change.  Ha.  15 wimps and George IV, I'd say.

Edited July 28, 2017 by Guest

[dstann]

On 19/07/2017 at 9:51 PM, icemiser69 said:

This season was flawed from the start on so many levels.  Allowing a team to be stacked, there was really no way to unstack it. 

In season 1 the cadres picked the team but they did it as a group in the form of negotiation.  All the teams wanted the lumberjack, so they said the green team could have the lumberjack but then the team also had to have the lady who kept crying,(seen as the weakest player).  I think this is a good way as it mean all the teams were balanced at the start.

To me the biggest flaw in the format of season 2 is the cadre of the winning team getting to pick who goes to elimination.  Of course the smart thing to do it to pick the strongest member of each team so that you are getting rid of the strongest opposition players.  So looking forward you would either have 1 mega strong team against weak teams or just all the weakest players left.  And I think it is a little unfair to be able to send the same person to back to back eliminations.  I thought it was much better in season 1 where you couldn't send the same person twice in a row.

And did anyone else notice the major spoiler in the opening credits?  The opening credits shows:

Sweeping beach shot,

John Cena,

Another sweeping beach shot,

Melanie laughing,

George running in a blue shirt

......

So at the start episode 1 they spoil that at some point George was going to on the blue team.  As soon as I saw the possibility of a player steal it was obvious what was going to happen.

[eel2178]

On ‎7‎/‎28‎/‎2017 at 7:40 AM, Winston9-DT3 said:

 

Edited July 30, 2017 by eel2178
deleted post because I realized I was just paraphrasing what someone else had already stated

[Vicky8675309]

This season seems very scripted. Ricki got screwed over by the other female cadre person (can't remember her name). Other than that, all the cadre "drama" seems fake....actually all of it seems very fake or overly manipulated.

[dstann]

7 hours ago, Vicky8675309 said:

This season seems very scripted. Ricki got screwed over by the other female cadre person (can't remember her name). Other than that, all the cadre "drama" seems fake....actually all of it seems very fake or overly manipulated.

It does seem a bit fake, and a bit rushed too, we are already up to the finale?

They haven't really delivered on the finding peoples grit premise either.  Most of them don't really seem to have serious "problems" that they needed to be solved. 

 

And due to the structure of the show we have:

Herman - the only athlete left and has been to 3 elimination, he will be hard to beat.

Alison/Chris - has been to 1 elimination but it was against Richard so does it really count?

Hannah - has been to 1 elimination

Michael/Gigi - never been to an elimination and you wouldn't say were the reason green won challenges

Do 5 of them even deserve to be there?

[simplyme]

10 hours ago, dstann said:

Do 5 of them even deserve to be there?

What are we counting as deserve?

I figure this is set up for Herman to win. He's had a great edit. He's made it through three challenges (two double eliminations), he's always shown hugging people and being supportive, we didn't actually see him talk about Alison but only help resolve that, and Cena brought in his parents special so that he could face his issues with them. So we got to see him conquer his fear of disappointing his parents and choose to be his own man. *eye roll* Oh, and he dispatched George and Carla, who set up as the two other athletic Goliaths.

No way anyone else is winning this thing. Everyone else has had negative sides of their personalities shown. Herman the fake Native American got the Golden Boy edit.

[dstann]

12 hours ago, simplyme said:

What are we counting as deserve?

To me it is the way that they structured the show, the majority of the people who have made it to the end got there because they are weak so were not targeted to be eliminated rather than having to fight their way there.  They call the show American Grit and yet it seems those without grit have skated through to the end.  I mean Herman has been to as many eliminations as the other 5 combined.

 

On 02/08/2017 at 8:40 AM, Vicky8675309 said:

This season seems very scripted. Ricki got screwed over by the other female cadre person (can't remember her name). Other than that, all the cadre "drama" seems fake....actually all of it seems very fake or overly manipulated.

I found it very odd that Hannah had to go to hospital for her sprained wrist/fingers, was loopy on morphine it was so bad, and then on the next episode was fine, no brace on her wrist, able to do the challenges.

[raven]

Well no one totally offensive won.  I did laugh at "hey, Gigi's proved her grit" when wasn't this the first time she's been in an elimination challenge?  So congrats on having everyone like you.  She did outlast the other two in the last physical challenge, which is all that matters in this show structure.

Still don't care about the cadre silliness, though again it's kind of funny that the physically weakest member of the Green team won, after all that blathering about stacking teams.

I don't mind Michael - though you knew he was getting through to the finale because of the "not even you!" shouting clip, which we've seen over and over but hadn't yet seen when they got to the last one before the finale challenge - but I don't like that he got to choose who went home before the finale.  I didn't like how any of the "choose who goes to the challenges stuff" was done.

There was lots of John Cena which is always good.   Still, assuming they're following this format if they come back, I don't know if I'll be watching.  This show was so much better last year and I hate the re-tooling. 

Another good one bites the dust.

[mertensia]

Good Lord. Invisible Gigi won.

[ClareWalks]

Hannah is just insufferable. The way she started crying JUST KNOWING that Grady had a snake, then she held it and she stopped crying and I was like "okay, Hannah is alright," then Burke showed up and she STARTED SOBBING AGAIN just because Burke was there. What the actual fuck is wrong with this woman? She has some sort of serious emotional problems, no joke.

[realdancemom]

Last year was so much better.  I liked the two winners last season because they helped their team win a lot and they really did have the grit to last the longest.  This season, the best challenge was last week when it was Herman, George, and Carla.  Those three were the best at challenges.  It doesn't seem fair that Michael and Gigi didn't have to do a challenge until the final.  Gigi is o.k.  Some of her comments made me laugh although I think she and Hannah are clueless.  However, they're young.  Glad she used the money to pay off debts.  I thought she might blow it since she previously didn't have discipline with money.

[simplyme]

Well, the two people on this show I think were completely screwed were Heather and Herman. Everyone else had to directly lose an elimination challenge to go home. I may not have thought those elimination challenges were evenly stacked, mind you, but they at least had a chance to save themselves.

God, this show sucks. I mean, I actually liked Gigi, and I certainly don't think she should be disqualified from winning because she happened to be the young, tiny girl on the stacked team of big, buff guys so she never saw action in an individual challenge until the end. That certainly wasn't her fault. But it does point to some (well, some other, cause we've certainly mentioned numerous ones) problems with the structure of the competition.

Hannah was certainly edited to appear as an emotional roller coaster. I mean, there are people who cry easily but just sort of keep going on because they know that's just how their body reacts. She just gives in to it. Exhausting.

That said, pulling a snake out of your pocket is generally a dick move. I say this as someone with no fear of snakes but plenty of family friends who served in wars that left them petrified of snakes. It's a very common phobia for both men and women.

If there is a next season, and if it has the same premise as this season, I'm pretty sure that's a pass for me. I'll find some other fake dreck tonwatch. :P

Also, although glad that Gigi can pay off her debts (although they never say how much they are), I've always sort of believed that no one should NEED to be given a huge sum of money. Want it? Sure. Make life easier? Definitely. But if you're so in debt that you *need* a big hunk of cash, you are probably one of the last people who *should* get it for your own good since you're really, really bad at financial decisions (barring certain situations like medical emergencies). I don't know if Gigi falls in this category or not, but it kind of sounded like it from the bits they said.

[dstann]

15 hours ago, icemiser69 said:

The way that they set up this season was so horribly flawed.  I can't really say that anyone got screwed over.

I think Herman got screwed over, he had to do all those eliminations and then Michael wins 1 challenge and gets the power to send him home, seemed unfair to me.

And I found the finale so anticlimactic.  The fact that they didn't bring back the eliminated contestants meant that there was no energy or atmosphere when Gigi won.  

If they do season 3 I hope they learn from their mistakes and make it more like season 1 

[greyflannel]

So Michael sold his loyalty and integrity for $250,000.00. Oh, wait, I guess he just gave them away. Anyway, it's a shame Herman was not allowed to compete in the final contest. The fact that this happened highlights one of the many things wrong with the way things were structured this season.

[adhoc]

Quote

So Michael sold his loyalty and integrity for $250,000.00.

I would have, for $250,000, and I would like to think my teammates would have totally understood and, in most cases, have done the same thing. It's a competition show, after all.

Had Michael not booted Herman, he would have been pretty much ensuring that he, Michael, was not likely to win, based on Herman's past performance. That's part of what his problem was, apparently--not standing up for himself. Good for Michael for putting himself first in this situation. As it is, he almost won the money.

That said, I was not invested in any of these people. And the idea that someone could help his team consistently win, as well as show admirable endurance during challenges, only to get booted at the last minute for basically being too good a competitor, really sucks. I mean, for a show that was trying to help troubled people, I don't think the message they conveyed was very good, the message being: No matter how much you contribute and overcome, you may lose in the end due to arbitrary decisions made by others.  At the end of the day, all of your hard work may not even pay off.  Because that might have been my takeaway, if I were Herman.

It's too bad that instead of being allowed to eliminate Herman, Michael wasn't simply given an extra 10 minutes of time to wait before having to start the final challenge. 

[realdancemom]

22 hours ago, adhoc said:

I would have, for $250,000, and I would like to think my teammates would have totally understood and, in most cases, have done the same thing. It's a competition show, after all.

Had Michael not booted Herman, he would have been pretty much ensuring that he, Michael, was not likely to win, based on Herman's past performance. That's part of what his problem was, apparently--not standing up for himself. Good for Michael for putting himself first in this situation. As it is, he almost won the money.

That said, I was not invested in any of these people. And the idea that someone could help his team consistently win, as well as show admirable endurance during challenges, only to get booted at the last minute for basically being too good a competitor, really sucks. I mean, for a show that was trying to help troubled people, I don't think the message they conveyed was very good, the message being: No matter how much you contribute and overcome, you may lose in the end due to arbitrary decisions made by others.  At the end of the day, all of your hard work may not even pay off.  Because that might have been my takeaway, if I were Herman.

It's too bad that instead of being allowed to eliminate Herman, Michael wasn't simply given an extra 10 minutes of time to wait before having to start the final challenge. 

I like your idea of just giving Michael an extra 10 minutes.  I don't blame Michael for eliminating Herman.  The structure of the show allowed it.  It just sucks for Herman after all his hard work.  Last season was so much better.   

[ClareWalks]

I have never seen a show structure which not only allowed, but encouraged, such a pitiful crop of finalists, EVER. What a disaster this season was. Every good player was targeted immediately, then at the end the only player who had actually done anything successful to get there (Herman) was eliminated for being a threat. Also WTF about saying "if a team is all eliminated, the cadre must ring out too," then nope, that never ended up happening. The cadre not only didn't ring out (unless I really missed something), they didn't even leave the fuckin' ranch!

[raven]

I think the first cadre member rang out whose team was eliminated but I'm not sure.

The tone for this whole season was set in the first episode, when all the prospects had to twirl the ball over their head for basically no reason - the woman who was still twirling was not chosen.    It was never about finding out who had grit - that was last season.  This season was just a mess.

[flyingpeach]

Loved season 1.  This retool was unnecessary; it wrecked the show with drama and tears.  Michael and Gigi hid behind Herman and George for the entire competition and showed no grit at any time.  When Gigi won, I actually shouted out "If they don't change this back to how they did it first season, I hope it gets canceled."  My husband was entertained by how disgusted I was.  No grit Gigi didn't deserve to win.  So she let Grady chop off her fingernails?  She'd have let him do anything -- she was into him.

[Guest]

Cena should have a reality show but this was pretty lame this season.  

I find the 'where are they now' blurbs funny.  Whiny-face got a job.  Big whoop.  And didn't we already know Cena was engaged?  I did, I'm sure it was from the show.  So why close with that tidbit of info, that he proposed.  

Since the winners only grit was cutting off her nails, I think Melanie should have won for getting her head shaved.